A close election in the Public Service Commission District 3 primary for the Democratic candidate is the reason a runoff election is scheduled July 15.
The primary election was held June 17 but received the attention of only a few voters, not only in Jones County but across the state.
Jones County Election Superintendent Marion Hatton confirmed that there would be a runoff July 15. She said Jones County would have one week of early voting from July 7 to July 11 during the hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Hatton said early voting would take place at the Elections Office in the Government Center, as will the July 15 election. The hours to vote on the July 15 election Day will be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
“Georgia law allows us to open just the one precinct, and I have chosen to hold that here,” the superintendent said.
Hatton said those eligible to cast ballots in the Democratic primary election runoff are anyone who voted with a Democratic ballot in the June 17 election as well as any registered voter who did not vote in the PSC primary.
Anyone who selected a Republican ballot in the June 17 PSC primary is not eligible to vote in the Democratic runoff.
Statewide, the voting percentage for the PSC primary was under three percent, and in Jones County the turnout was 1.88 percent, which was 430 of the county’s 22,844 registered voters.
The runoff is between candidates Keisha Sean Waites and Peter Hubbard. Waits received 47 percent of the votes statewide in the June 17 Democratic Primary for PSC District 3. She is challenged in the runoff by Hubbard, who received 33 percent of the vote. Twenty-one percent of the vote was garnered by a third candidate, Robert Jones.
Waites needed to receive 50 percent plus one vote to avoid a runoff. In Jones County, Waits received 123 votes to Hubbard’s 49.
The statewide results for the PSC District 2 show Incumbent Tim Echols the winner in the Republican Primary over Lee Muns. Echols received 76 percent of the vote. Democrat Alicia M. Johnson was not opposed in the Democratic primary.
According to information found on the Ballotpedia website, Waits is originally from Atlanta and has served in the Georgia House of Representatives and on the Atlanta City Council.
Hubbard is a project director originally from Akron OH and attended the University of Memphis. He has worked in the energy industry for 15 years.
PSC District 3 incumbent Republican Fitz Johnson faced no opposition in the primary. He will face off against the winner of the Democratic primary in November.
The Georgia Public Commission website states the Public Service Commission sets fair and reasonable rates for services under its jurisdiction. Utilities, like Georgia Power, are typically regulated by PSC. The commission’s main job is togovern rates and plans.
The Georgia Public Service Commission has exclusive power to decide what are fair and reasonable rates for services under its jurisdiction. Currently, five elected commissioners, supported by approximately 90 staff members, make decisions that affect the lives of every Georgian each time a telephone is picked up, a light is turned on, and a gas burner is used.
The website for more information is psc.ga.gov.
